Federal Road Safety Corps, Osun State Sector Command, has blamed a fatal road crash along the Ife-Ilesa Expressway on excessive speeding and dangerous driving.
The accident, which occurred on Saturday at Tonkere town on the busy Ife-Ilesa route, involved a Toyota Hiace bus and a black Volkswagen Golf car.
Three people were confirmed dead in the collision, while 20 others sustained injuries of varying degrees, according to the Osun State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Corps Commander Sunday Adebayo.
Adebayo disclosed that the deceased comprised two females and one male, while the injured victims were taken for medical attention following the crash.
He said the accident involved 23 people, comprising 11 females and nine males, as well as three children, comprising two boys and one girl.
“Three people died. Altogether, we have about 20 others who were injured in the crash,” the sector commander said.
Adebayo said the circumstances surrounding the crash pointed to excessive speed and dangerous driving, warning motorists against behaviours capable of endangering other road users.
“Excessive speeding is killing. The accident happened due to over-speeding and dangerous driving,” he said.
Following the incident, FRSC patrol teams from Ife and Ilesa were quickly deployed to the scene to carry out rescue operations and manage the aftermath of the collision.
The sector commander said the emergency response commenced within minutes after the agency received information about the accident from a member of the public.
“Our boys got to the place within five minutes. One of the members of the public alerted us, and we were already on the road by the time the incident happened,” Adebayo stated.
He added that some of the victims who sustained minor injuries received treatment and were subsequently discharged, while the more seriously injured survivors continued receiving medical attention.
The vehicles involved in the crash were later removed from the road and taken to a police station in Ife, allowing normal traffic movement to resume along the affected section of the expressway.
Adebayo appealed to motorists to reduce their speed and exercise greater caution, stressing that lower speeds could reduce the severity of injuries and fatalities when crashes occur.
“If you go at a lower speed, if you have cause to be involved in a crash, the fatality will not be as much as what we saw this morning,” he said.
The FRSC sector commander also urged motorists to recognise their responsibility towards other road users, saying, “Nigerians should respect other road users. They should have this shared responsibility that everybody has a right to use the road.”
He said the FRSC would sustain its public enlightenment campaigns and other road safety initiatives across Osun State as part of efforts to reduce crashes and prevent avoidable deaths on the roads.
